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What science is and how it works

Introduces the reader to the process of scientific thinking. Starting with historical examples, this book leads readers through the events, experiments, blind alleys, and thoughts of scientists in the midst of discovery and invention. It shows how scientists use a small number of powerful yet simple methods to construct realistic models.Read more...

Exploring the frontiers of science: how new discoveries are made in the sciences --
Mental tactics: some distinctively scientific approaches to the world --
Larger questions: the context of science --
Common ground: some unifying concepts in the sciences.

Responsibility:

Gregory N. Derry.

Reviews

Editorial reviews

Publisher Synopsis

One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2000 "[There is] no better contemporary book to convey the unity of science and at the same time to stimulate further study."--Choice "Part textbook, part manifesto, Derry's book offers both entertainment and food for thought for readers inclined to learn the ways of science."--Gregory McNamee, Amazon.com "How does a scientist go about solving problems? How do scientific discoveries occur? How is mainstream science different from borderland science and pseudoscience? In this lively and wide-ranging book, Gregory Derry discusses these and other questions as he introduces readers to the scientific way of thinking... Readers of this book will come away with an enriched appreciation of how scientists operate, and how science connects with our daily lives."--Robert J. Deltete, The Quarterly Review of BiologyRead more...